The Mississippi Sea Wolves were a professional hockey team based in Biloxi, Mississippi, and play in the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. The Sea Wolves were members of the ECHL.
| Mississippi Sea Wolves | |
|---|---|
| City | Biloxi, Mississippi |
| League | ECHL |
| Division | Continental |
| Founded | 1996 |
| Operated | 1996–2009 |
| Home arena | Mississippi Coast Coliseum |
| Colors | Red, blue, and white |
| Website | mississippiseawolves.com |
| Championships | |
| Regular season titles | 2002–03 |
| Division titles | 2002–03 |
| Kelly Cups | 1998–99 |
The Sea Wolves were founded in 1996 and had considerable success over their 10 seasons in the ECHL. They reached the playoffs in five of their first seven years and a league championship in 1999, when they defeated the Richmond Renegades in a best-of-seven series to claim the Kelly Cup.
Damages from Hurricane Katrina to the Mississippi Coast Coliseum forced the team to suspend operations for the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons under the ECHL's hardship provisions. Hurricane Katrina resulted in extensive damage to the team’s home arena, including flood damage to team offices, locker rooms, ice-making equipment, and two Zambonis. During the 2006–07 ECHL All-Star Game, the league officially confirmed the Sea Wolves would return in 2007–08.[1]
On March 30, 2009, the Sea Wolves announced that the organization would be suspending operations again for the 2009–10 season, but a little more than a month later the team's management announced that professional hockey would continue to be played on the Mississippi Gulf Coast in the form of the Mississippi Surge in the Southern Professional Hockey League. The Surge played at the Coast Coliseum from the 2009–10 season through 2013–14.[2]
In 2021, the Federal Prospects Hockey League hosted three neutral site games in Biloxi. Biloxi Pro Hockey sold 20,163 tickets in the month of December and an announcement was made on December 30 that a new Sea Wolves team would return in 2022.[3] The new team began play in the 2022–23 FPHL season.
History
edit| League champions | Division champions | Playoff berth |
| ECHL | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Division | Regular season | Statistics | Postseason results | Coach | ||||||||
| W | L | T | OTL | SOL | Pts | Pct. | GF | GA | PIM | ||||
| 1996–97 | South | 34 | 26 | 10 | — | — | 78 | .557 | 241 | 245 | 2082 | Lost First Round, 0–3 vs. Birmingham | Bruce Boudreau |
| 1997–98 | Southwest | 34 | 27 | 9 | — | — | 77 | .550 | 225 | 224 | 1909 | did not qualify | Bruce Boudreau |
| 1998–99 | Southwest | 41 | 22 | 7 | — | — | 89 | .636 | 251 | 215 | 1357 | Won Conf. Quarterfinals, 3–0 vs. South Carolina Won Conf. Semifinals, 3–0 vs. Florida Won Conf. Finals, 4–1 vs. Pee Dee Won Kelly Cup, 4–3 vs. Richmond |
Bruce Boudreau |
| 1999–00 | Southwest | 35 | 27 | 8 | — | — | 78 | .557 | 241 | 221 | 1773 | Won Wildcard, 2–1 vs. Pensacola Lost Conf. Quarterfinals, 1–3 vs. Louisiana |
Marc Potvin |
| 2000–01 | Southwest | 34 | 33 | 5 | — | — | 73 | .507 | 221 | 218 | 1310 | did not qualify | Al Pedersen |
| 2001–02 | Southwest | 41 | 26 | 5 | — | — | 87 | .604 | 251 | 232 | 1706 | Won Div. Semifinals, 3–0 vs. Pensacola Won Div. Finals, 3–0 vs. Jackson Lost Conf. Finals, 1–3 vs. Greenville |
Bob Woods |
| 2002–03 | Southwest | 44 | 24 | — | 4 | — | 92 | .639 | 250 | 211 | 2159 | Won Div. Semifinals, 3–0 vs. Pensacola Lost Div. Finals, 0–3 vs. Louisiana |
Bob Woods |
| 2003–04 | Central | 45 | 20 | — | 7 | — | 97 | .674 | 256 | 200 | 1632 | Lost Div. Semifinals, 2–3 vs. Gwinnett | Bob Woods |
| 2004–05 | South | 39 | 24 | — | 4 | 5 | 87 | .604 | 223 | 215 | 1372 | Lost Conf. Quarterfinals, 1–3 vs. Gwinnett | Bob Woods |
| 2005–06 | Inactive due to arena damages from Hurricane Katrina | ||||||||||||
| 2006–07 | |||||||||||||
| 2007–08 | South | 29 | 40 | — | 1 | 2 | 61 | .424 | 204 | 262 | 1462 | Lost First Round, 1–3 vs. Texas | Steffon Walby |
| 2008–09 | South | 28 | 35 | — | 7 | 1 | 64 | .451 | 203 | 256 | 1242 | did not qualify | Steffon Walby |
References
edit- ^ "The ECHL officially announces the Sea Wolves return". ECHL. January 22, 2007. Archived from the original on February 28, 2008. Retrieved February 28, 2008.
- ^ "SOUTHERN PROFESSIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE COMES TO THE COAST". Southern Professional Hockey League. May 7, 2009. Retrieved May 11, 2009. [dead link]
- ^ "Professional hockey team returning full-time to Biloxi". supertalk.fm. January 3, 2022.